OK, I'm obsessing. Just wanted to tell Donna I read the same caution in
Canadian Living, which is what got me started on this question. Jack
Newman says that "Vitamin D deficienc rickets... is very uncommon. It
occurs in babies of mothers who themselves are vitamin D deficient,
since their babies do not get enough vitamin D stored up during the
pregnancy. Vitamin D deficiency in pregnant women is quite rare in
Canada, since women get lots of outside exposure, because they often
drink milk... and because they usually take prenatal vitamins... Women
who are likely to be vitamin D deficient are those women who do not get
much sun exposure to their skin." (p. 148 -9) He also says that you can
get vitamin D on cloudy days but not through a window, that "if the
mother herself has adequate supplies of vitamin D [during pregnancy] the
baby will hae enough on board at birth to keep him going for at least a
few months. Breastmilk has small amounts of vitamin D, but these alone
would not be sufficient..." (p. 267) and that because we are so
concerned about sun exposure we haven't eliminated vitamin D deficiency.
He points out that if the mother is dark-skinned, doesn't get vitamin D
from her diet and doesn't get much sun, there is a concern, particularly
if the mother lives in a northern climate. I also read somewhere (see,
I'm just as precise) that the same is true for dark-complected babies.
Whence my questions re: Native babies and mothers. I'm also still trying
to establish if sunscreen inhibits vitamin D absorption.
I've had lots of helpful replies and thank the authors.
Jo-Anne

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